Fatwa ID: 07403
Answered by: Maulana Muhammad Altaf Hossen
Question:
Is building a masjid wajib, or just waqf of land is wajib?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In Islamic jurisprudence, particularly within the Hanafi school, the rulings on building a masjid and the endowment (waqf) of land for this purpose have specific guidelines and references. Here is a summary based on the Qur’an, Hadith, and Hanafi fiqh sources:
حكم الوقف :
Building a mosque is a significant act and doing waqf the personal properties is Wajib.
Surah At-Tawbah (9:18):
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ فَعَسَىٰ أُولَٰئِكَ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ
Translation: “The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakah and do not fear except Allah, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.”
Sura An-Nur 36-38
٣٦ فِي بُيُوتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تُرْفَعَ وَيُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ
36 In houses which God has permitted to be raised, and His name is celebrated therein. He is glorified therein, morning and evening.
٣٧ رِجَالٌ لَا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ ۙ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالْأَبْصَارُ
37 By men who neither trading nor commerce distracts them from God’s remembrance, and from performing the prayers, and from giving alms. They fear a Day when hearts and sights are overturned.
٣٨ لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَيَزِيدَهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
38 God will reward them according to the best of what they did, and He will increase them from His bounty. God provides for whomever He wills without reckoning.
Hadith
، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّ عَاصِمَ بْنَ عُمَرَ بْنِ قَتَادَةَ حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ، سَمِعَ عُبَيْدَ اللَّهِ الْخَوْلاَنِيَّ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ، يَقُولُ عِنْدَ قَوْلِ النَّاسِ فِيهِ حِينَ بَنَى مَسْجِدَ الرَّسُولِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِنَّكُمْ أَكْثَرْتُمْ، وَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ “ مَنْ بَنَى مَسْجِدًا ـ قَالَ بُكَيْرٌ حَسِبْتُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ ـ يَبْتَغِي بِهِ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ، بَنَى اللَّهُ لَهُ مِثْلَهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ .
Sahih al-Bukhari:-450 PDF WWW SUNNAH.COM
Narrated ‘Ubaidullah Al-Khaulani:
I heard `Uthman bin `Affan saying, when people argued too much about his intention to reconstruct the mosque of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), “You have talked too much. I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, ‘Whoever built a mosque, (Bukair thought that `Asim, another sub-narrator, added, “Intending Allah’s Pleasure”), Allah would build for him a similar place in Paradise.(1)’
Sahih Muslim:
حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، – وَاللَّفْظُ لاِبْنِ الْمُثَنَّى – قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مَخْلَدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ مَحْمُودِ بْنِ لَبِيدٍ، أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ، أَرَادَ بِنَاءَ الْمَسْجِدِ فَكَرِهَ النَّاسُ ذَلِكَ فَأَحَبُّوا أَنْ يَدَعَهُ عَلَى هَيْئَتِهِ فَقَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ “ مَنْ بَنَى مَسْجِدًا لِلَّهِ بَنَى اللَّهُ لَهُ فِي الْجَنَّةِ مِثْلَهُ ” .
Mahmud b. Labid reported:
When ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan intended to build the mosque (of the Prophet) the people did not approve of it. They liked that it should be kept in the same state. Thereupon he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: He who built a mosque for Allah, Allah would build a house for him like it in Paradise.-533 b www.sunnah.com
Hanafi Fiqh
1. Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar:
وَيَصِحُّوَقْفُالْأَرْضِلِبِنَاءِمَسْجِدٍوَلَوْلَمْيُبْنَبَعْدُ؛لِأَنَّهُمَنْوِيٌّفِيالْوَقْفِ،وَإِنْلَمْيُبْنَمَسْجِدٌفَإِنَّهُيُبْنَىٰفِيالْمُسْتَقْبَلِ
“The endowment of land for building a mosque is valid even if the mosque has not yet been built; because it is intended in the endowment, and if the mosque is not built, it will be built in the future.”
2. Qadhi Khan:
وَفِيالْمُعْتَمَدَاتِالْفِقْهِيَّةِالْحَنَفِيَّةِ: إِنَّوَقْفَالْأَرْضِلِبِنَاءِمَسْجِدٍيَكُونُوَاجِبًاإِذَاكَانَتْفِيالْمَصْلَحَةِالْعَامَّةِ،وَيَكُونُتَأْسِيسُالْمَسْجِدِأَيْضًاوَاجِبًافِيحَالَةِالْحَاجَةِإِلَىمَكَانٍلِلصَّلَاةِ
“In the authoritative Hanafi jurisprudence texts, the endowment of land for building a mosque becomes obligatory if it is for the public benefit, and the establishment of the mosque also becomes obligatory in the case of the need for a place for prayer.”
Conclusion
Building a masjid and endowing land for this purpose are highly encouraged and carry significant rewards in Islam. According to the Hanafi school, endowing land for building a masjid is considered obligatory if there is a public need for it. The actual construction of the mosque is also deemed necessary when there is a need for a place of prayer. This underscores the importance of facilitating communal worship and the maintenance of religious practices.
Reference: (1) Sahih Bukhari
Book: كتاب الصلاة (The Book of Prayer)
Chapter: باب فضل بناء المسجد
Hadith Number: 450
(ii)Sahih Muslim :
Book: كتاب المساجد ومواضع الصلاة (The Book of Mosques and Places of Prayer)
Chapter: باب فضل بناء المساجد
Hadith Number: 533
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Maulana Muhammad Altaf Hossen
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
